On Thursday, 30 October, several agricultural organisations in the EU (poultry, sugar, maize, Copa-Cogeca, etc.) called for concrete measures to be taken in the face of persistent concerns related to the entry into force of the deep and comprehensive free trade area between the EU and Ukraine the previous day.
This agreement “fully [takes] into account the sensitivity of certain EU agricultural sectors”, assures the European Commission (https://aeur.eu/f/j77 ).
The organisations acknowledge the efforts made to protect European producers but consider the concessions to be too great. The quota increases are troubling: +25% for ethyl alcohol, +33% for poultry, +30% for wheat, +29% for barley, +54% for maize, and +200% for eggs. The increases for sugar (+398%) and honey (+483%) are considered to be alarming.
The organisations welcome the principle of a reinforced safeguard clause but have doubts as to how effective it will really be; they are calling for a transparent, automatic mechanism for monitoring sensitive imports to be implemented (see EUROPE 13740/26).
On paper, the convergence of Ukrainian standards and EU standards by 2028 constitutes progress, “but no guarantees have been provided regarding its genuine implementation”, they warn. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)